Electric switching means



March 20, 1956 w Ms 2,739,210

ELECTRIC SWITCHING MEANS Filed Sept. 13, 1954 INVENTOR.

ELECTRIC SWITCHING MEANS Joimin. Williams, Barrington, Iil., assignor to Oak Mfg. Co., Chicago, Ill., a corporation of llliuois Application September 13, 1954, Serial No. 455,403

3 Claims. (Cl. 200166) This invention relates to electric switching means and particularly to a simple mechanism for actuating switchingIfilements. While a construction embodying the present invention has a wide variety of uses, it is particularly-useful in connection with electronic equipment involving circuits carrying very small currents and requiring multiple switching. In such devices as portable radio receivers and devices of a similar nature, switches are frequently necessary for changing from one type of operation to another. Because of the low cost of such receivers, it is particularly desirable that the switches be simple and susceptible to quantity manufacture and tooling for manufacture without the expenditure of substantial money. It is also desirable that the component parts of the mechanism for operating the switches be simple and readily assembled and disassembled with a minimum of effort and time.

For a more thorough understanding of the invention, reference will now be made to the drawings wherein an exemplary embodiment illustrative of the invention is illustrated. It is understood, however, that this illustrative embodiment is one example and that variations may be made within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Referring therefore to the drawings,

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a switch mechanism embodying the present invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevation along line 22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an elevation from a different side along line 33 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a section along line 4-4 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the switch operating mechanism removed from the switch, the view showing the interior of the mechanism.

The switching operating mechanism together with the switch itself comprises metal base plate having top face 11 and side flanges 12 and 13 bent at right angles from top face 11. Flanges 12 and 13 are provided with shouldered fingers 15 to 17 inclusive, flange 12 having one such extension and flange 13 having the remaining two extensions.

Face 11 of the metal base plate has sides 19 to 22 inclusive, the base plate having a generally rectangular configuration. This shape, however, is exemplary and may be modified to suit requirements. Side 19 of face 11 of the base plate has finger 24 struck up from the metal, the finger extending above the level of face 11. Side of the base plate has space 25 punched out, this space being approximately midway between sides 19 and 21. Adjacent side 21 and substantially midway between sides 20 and 22, pocket portion 27 is formed in the metal of the base plate, this taking the form of small dished portion 28 and slotted portion 29, the slotted portion providing access through the metal wall forming base plate 10. Depressed or dished region 28 has a generally circular shape as seen from the top looking down upon tion 29 is generally parallel to side 21 and is inwardly disposed of dished region 28.

Adjacentv side 22 of face 11 large cut-out shape.

ly extending finger 33, the extreme tipot finger 33 being bent over at 34 to lie parallel with the plane of face 11 erally perpendicular from plate 10.

while the mainv body of the finger extends upwardly gen- Disposed on the inside of face 11 of base plate .10 is. lever 35 having flattened pivot head 36 adapted to fit in dished region 28 of the base plate. Head 36 is connected to the body of lever-35 by neck 37. Lever 35 is generally fiat and is adapted to lie against the bottom. of

face 11. LeverL35 has switch-operating finger 38 extending downwardly therefrom, that is,*away from base plate 10. .Lever 35 also has portion 40 thereof normally disposed in theregion of cut-out 30 of the base plate.-

Lever portion 40 has lever actuating finger 41 extending upwardly through cut-out -30, finger 40 being long enough to extend up from face 11 of the base plate for a suf ficient distance to be mechanically engaged. .Portion 41 of .the lever-is so shaped and oriented that it is adapted to rest against part 31 of the base plate.

,As' is. clearly evident in Figure l, lever 35 is adapted to move around pivot portion 36as a pivot so thatfinger 41'ii'vill move generally in the direction of the arrow as illustrated in Figure 1, the direction of movement of finger 41, however, being along a circular arc whose center is at pivot portion 36.

Lever portion 35 also has spring-engaging finger 43 adapted to extend through space 25 in base plate 10. Spring-engaging finger 43 and finger 24 of the base plate have coil spring 44 attached thereto for biasing the lever in a position where finger 41 rests against stop 31 of the base plate.

Cooperating with the switch-operating mechanism is a switch construction comprising fixed insulating sheet 46 carrying a number of spring contacts 47 having switch contact engaging portions 48. Cooperating with fixed insulating sheet 46 is movable insulating sheet 50 carrying movable contacts 51. Insulating sheet 50 has slot 53 adapted to be engaged by finger 38 of lever 35. Stationary insulating plate 46 is suitably slotted to engage shouldered extensions 15 to 17 inclusive. It will be noted that shouldered extensions 15 to 17 inclusive are substantially longer than the thickness of insulating plate plate 10, this being illustrated in Figure 1. Slotted por- While the contacts carried by insulating plate 46 may vary widely, the construction illustrated is particularly useful in connection with printed circuits. The contact illustrated in the drawings here is more fully disclosed and claimed in the co-pending application of Readar W. Sorensen, filed February 15, 1954, Serial No. 410,345. In general, this contact includes a generally diamondshaped spring contact 55 extending away from the plane of insulating plate 46. Spring contacts 55 are long enough to pass through slots in insulating support 56 carrying a printed circuit. The tips of the spring contacts extending beyond insulating support 56 may be soldered to suitable parts of a printed circuit. Extensions 15 to 17 inclusive are long enough so that the very ends of these extensions may pass through slots in insulating supated in any number of ways, one method of actuation involves the use of a conventional two-prong -volt Pat ented Mar. 20,1956

30 is provided. I} This cut-out is irregular in shape and provides stop pore tion 31 adjacent side 22, portion 31 having any suitable Part of the metal of plate 10 in cut-out 30,-is bent upwardly from the plane of face 11 .to form upward;

plug: as is well known, many. small radio receiver-s adapted for A. (1-D. C. or low vol-tage suchas a battery operation, have a' switch or switching means ventional ll-volt socket is also used for inserting 'ina 1 receptacle on the radio receiver to change the switchconnections so that the radio receiver maybe battery-open atedl' iln such case, the two prongs of the-"plug enter slotsand-one of the prongs, here illustrated as 62, is adapted to engage finger 41 of'thelever tooperatethe switch;

It will be apparentthat base plate has dished portion ZS'lormed by laterally olfsetting th Plate material; The plate material is offset so that asheared or slotted portion 29 'is provided at a part of the boundary betwccn the offset part of the plate proper. The amount of o'iiset must be greater than the plate thickness'and where lever member 35 is fiat and is to lay against the plate side then the offset should be'enough to accommodate the thickness of the lever. Due to the action of the spring, the lever is maintained in position against pl'at'ell) so that head 36 will be maintained in ofiset 28. The lever may be used to actuate any" suitable mechanism.

The lever may be assembled or dismantled with a minimum of tools. 7 To dis-assemble the lever on the base plate, spring 44 is removed. Since opening 29 is generally tangent to the circulararea of depressed region 23, head 36 of the lever will remain locked so long as the head lies in the depressed region. To remove the lever it is necessary to turn the lever away from the tionof said member is separated from the body portion plate 56 that head 36 is raised above offset region 2 8: Then the head may be pulled through slot 29,-it being understood that slot 29 is long enough to accommodate the head diameter. versed. 7

What is claimed is: 1. In a construction for actuating a switch or the like, a rigid base plate having a generally circular region laterally offset from said plate by a distance greater than the thickness of said plate, the plate material being open I at one part of the offset boundary, a member havihg a flat rounded head portion shaped to fit against said off set portion, said member lying on the side of the; plate where the offset becomes a concavity and having the head portion of said member extending-through the plate opening and lying in the circular ofiset region, said member being adapted to move with respect to its head portion as a pivot in a plane generally parallel to the plate, and means coupled to said member for actuating a. switch. t

2. Th.e-construetion according to claim 1' wherein said member is flat and wherein the rounded head por-- of the member by a reduced neck portion.

3. The construction according to claim '2 whereina" spring is cortpled between a portion of said base plateand said member for biasing said member to a predetermined position, said member having a finger extend ing through an aperture in the base plate.

No references cited.

To assemble, the procedure is re- 7 

